Reforesting a Colombian national park with native species

Location

Santander, Colombia

About the project:

Under its Forest Compensation Plan, Colombian energy company ISAGEN signed a partnership agreement with Colombia’s public Natural Heritage Fund and Parques Nacionales Naturales de Colombia to restore 4,507 hectares of the Serranía de los Yariguíes National Park. The project focuses on the north sector of the park, where diverse ecosystems in a small area make the landscape an important site for biodiversity. However, selective logging, livestock, and agriculture have degraded the land in recent years and led to the loss of several forest species.

To combat this degradation, the Unión Temporal Corredor Jaguar Norandino, a joint organization between Initiative 20x20 Partner Fundación Natura, the Guayacanal Foundation, and the Magdalena Medio Peace and Development Program, carried out a comprehensive program. Grouping the area into 7 management units according to their distinctive vegetation types, like weedy grasses or ferns, they designed restoration plans tailored to the needs of each unit. In total, the group grew 90 different native tree species across 750 hectares of land. But restoration is always a long-term process: To follow up and ensure that the trees they planted are growing properly, the group will monitor their progress in three, ten, and 20 years.

This project also involved former residents who once lived in the area before it became a national park, directly creating 75 jobs. By participating in the process, these local communities now have the opportunity to support the conservation and restoration of the country's national parks.

Investment type